{"id":3743,"date":"2019-09-25T08:06:43","date_gmt":"2019-09-25T08:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=3743"},"modified":"2019-09-25T08:06:43","modified_gmt":"2019-09-25T08:06:43","slug":"vera-deacon-given-citys-highest-honour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2019\/09\/25\/vera-deacon-given-citys-highest-honour\/","title":{"rendered":"Vera Deacon given City\u2019s highest honour"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Writer, philanthropist and passionate historian Vera Deacon has been named a Freeman of the City in recognition of her contribution to Newcastle\u2019s heritage, conservation and local history at a special ceremony at City Hall today.
\nNewcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said Vera was a well-deserved recipient who would join an esteemed list of 13 other Novocastrians to be awarded the City\u2019s highest honour.
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\n\u201cThe City of Newcastle deeply appreciates Vera\u2019s immense contribution to the ongoing preservation and interpretation of our rich local history,\u201d the Lord Mayor said.
\n\u201cSteadfastly involved in progressive social and political movements, Vera is a trailblazer for women and has a keen sense of social justice and equality.
\n\u201cWe thank Vera for her many contributions to our community and know that while she may shy away from being singled out in this way, there are none more deserving of this wonderful honour.\u201d
\nVera was born in Mayfield and raised on two of the Newcastle\u2019s original estuary islands on the Hunter River \u2013 Dempsey Island and Mosquito Island (also known as Moscheto).
\nDuring her childhood, she developed a deep and enduring connection with the waterway that continues to this day through her conservation and literary works.
\nAfter spending most of her married life in Sydney Vera returned to Newcastle in 1997 following the death of her husband Stanley.
\nMoving to Stockton where she could remain close to her beloved Hunter River, she joined the local historical society and began to piece together the history of the estuary islands, sharing the fruits of her research and the memories of other former residents in a series of award-winning stories.
\nShe has dedicated countless hours to restoring the health of the estuary, volunteering as part of the Kooragang wetlands rehabilitation project on Ash Island.
\nPreserving the city\u2019s history and heritage continues to drive the Stockton resident, who has made regular donations to the University of Newcastle\u2019s Cultural Collections during the past 18 years. The Vera Deacon Regional History Fund was set up by the university and named in her honour to recognise and build on her generosity, with donations, including Vera\u2019s, used to collect, document and digitise regional history archives.
\n\u201cThrough her generosity and passion, Vera has ensured that current and future generations of Novocastrians will be able to access the records and accounts of those who have come before them,\u201d the Lord Mayor said.
\n\u201cThe stories of our past play an important role in weaving the fabric of our society, both now and in the years to come.
\n\u201cNewcastle\u2019s stories will continue to be remembered and passed on, thanks in part to the Vera Deacon Regional History Fund and the altruism of its namesake.\u201d\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Writer, philanthropist and passionate historian Vera Deacon has been named a Freeman of the City in recognition of her contribution to Newcastle\u2019s heritage, conservation and local history at a special ceremony at City Hall today. Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said Vera was a well-deserved recipient who would join an esteemed list of 13 other … Continue reading “Vera Deacon given City\u2019s highest honour”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3743\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}